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Background Intravenous (IV) iron is frequently used to treat iron deficiency/anemia in patients who are unable to tolerate oral iron or the oral iron is not sufficient toreplete iron requirements. However, safety concerns regarding the potential increase in oxidative stress and other adverse effects persist and it remains unclear whether all iron preparations are equivalent. Indeed, the comparative risk of adverse events with IV iron preparations has not been extensively assessed. We hypothesize that IV iron leads to changes in oxidative stress, endothelial function, and potential renal damage depending on the iron formulation (related to the generation of “free” or catalytic labile iron) and this may result in more tubular and glomerular injury manifested as increased proteinuria and raised neutrophil gelatinase–associated lipocalin (NGAL) levels in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods IRON-CKD is a prospective, open-label, explorative, randomized, single-center study designed to compare the safety and efficacy of three parenteral iron preparations: low-molecular-weight iron dextran–Cosmofer, iron sucrose–Venofer, and iron isomaltoside–Monofer. The study includes 40 adults who have established CKD stages 3–5 and serum ferritin (SF) of less than 200 μg/L or transferrin saturation (TS) of less than 20% (or both); they were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1:1 ratio to 200 mg iron dextran, 200 mg iron sucrose, 200 mg iron isomaltoside, or 1000 mg iron isomaltoside. After randomization, participants undergo baseline assessments and then an iron infusion. Each participant is followed up at 2 h, day 1, week 1, and months 1 and 3. At each follow-up visit, patients undergo clinical review, measurement of pulse wave velocity (PWV), blood tests for renal function, and collection of serum/plasma samples for oxidative stress and inflammatory markers. The primary outcomes are measures of oxidative stress, inflammatory markers, and markers of acute renal injury in comparison with baseline measures of each iron preparation and between each of the iron preparations. Secondary objectives include effects on hematinic profiles and hemoglobin concentrations, changes in arterial stiffness, incidence of significant side effects, and change in patients’ quality of life. Results Between October 2015 and April 2018, 521 individuals were identified as potential participants; 216 were contacted, 56 expressed an interest, 49 attended a screening visit, and 40 were confirmed to meet the eligibility criteria and were randomly assigned. The mean age was 58.3 (standard error of the mean 4.4) years, and 23 (58%) were male. All patients were white and English-speaking. The mean SF was 66.6 μg/L, TS was 21.2%, and hemoglobin was 121.6 g/L at randomization for the whole group. The mean estimated glomerular filtration rate was 27.8 mL/min, the urinary protein/creatinine ratio was 104.3 mg/mmol, and CRP was 6.65 mg/L. Discussion IRON-CKD will provide important information on the short-term effects of three preparations of IV iron in CKD patients with biochemical functional or absolute iron deficiency on measures of oxidative stress, inflammation, endothelial function, and renal injury. Trial registration European Clinical Trials Database (EudraCT) number 2010-020452-64 .

Sodium ferric gluconate complex in hemodialysis patients: Adverse reactions compared to placebo and iron dextran. Parenteral iron is often required by hemodialysis patients to maintain adequate iron stores. Until recently, the only available form of intravenous iron was iron dextran, which is associated with significant adverse reactions, including anaphylaxis and death. Sodium ferric gluconate complex (SFGC) was recently approved for use in the U.S. under FDA's priority drug review. This Phase IV study was designed to evaluate the safety of a single dose of intravenous SFGC as compared to placebo and a historical iron dextran control. This multicenter, crossover, randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled prospective comparative study was performed in hemodialysis patients requiring at least 125mg of elemental iron. The historical control was obtained from a meta-analysis of four publications examining outcomes in patients exposed to iron dextran. SFGC naïve patients were administered SFGC without a test dose, undiluted, at a rate of 125mg over 10 minutes, and compared to placebo comprising bacteriostatic saline. A total of 2534 patients were enrolled. The incidence of drug intolerance (an adverse event precluding re-exposure) was significantly less [0.44%, confidence interval (CI) 0.21 to 0.71%] after SFGC as compared to the iron dextran control (2.47%, CI 1.87 to 3.07%, P < 0.0001), but higher than after placebo (0.1%, P = 0.02). There was no difference found between SFGC and placebo in serious adverse events. A single life-threatening event occurred after SFGC (0.04%, CI 0.00 to 0.22%), which was significantly less than following iron dextran (0.61%, CI 0.36 to 0.86%), P = 0.0001. SFGC is well tolerated when given by intravenous push without a test dose. SFGC has a significantly lower incidence of drug intolerance and life-threatening events as compared to previous studies using iron dextran. The routine use of iron dextran in hemodialysis patients should be discontinued.

Sodium ferric gluconate complex in hemodialysis patients. II. Adverse reactions in iron dextran-sensitive and dextran-tolerant patients. Iron dextran administration is associated with a high incidence of adverse reactions including anaphylaxis and death. Although dextran, rather than iron, is believed to be the cause of these reactions, it is not known whether iron dextran-sensitive patients can be safely administered another form of parenteral iron, sodium ferric gluconate in sucrose (SFGC). In a 69 center, prospective, double-blind, controlled trial of safety and tolerability of SFGC, the rate of reactions to SFGC and placebo in 144 iron dextran-sensitive patients was compared with 2194 patients who were previously tolerant to iron dextran preparations. Serum tryptase levels, a marker of mast cell degranulation, also were measured. Among 143 iron dextran-sensitive patients exposed to SFGC, three (2.1%) were intolerant. All three had suspected allergic events to SFGC, including one patient with a serious reaction (0.7%). One dextran-sensitive patient (0.7%) had a suspected allergic reaction after placebo. In contrast, among 2194 iron dextran-tolerant patients, reactions to SFGC were significantly less common, with SFGC intolerance seen in seven patients (0.3%; P = 0.020), including five (0.2%) who had suspected allergic events (P = 0.010), but none who had serious events (0.0%; P = 0.061). Two iron dextran-tolerant patients (0.09%) had allergic-like reactions following placebo injections. Two of the three suspected allergic events in the iron dextran-sensitive group were confirmed as mast cell dependent by a 100% increase in serum tryptase, while there were no confirmed allergic events in the iron dextran-tolerant group. Long-term exposure to SFGC in iron dextran-sensitive patients resulted in intolerance in only one additional patient and no serious adverse events. Patients with a history of iron dextran sensitivity had approximately sevenfold higher rates of reaction to both placebo and SFGC compared to iron dextran tolerant patients. However, logistic regression analysis, performed to account for the higher reaction rate to placebo, suggests that this increased reactivity was not drug-specific nor immunologically mediated, but represented host idiosyncrasy. These results support the conclusions that reactions to SFGC can be attributed to pseudoallergy, and that SFGC is not a true allergen.

Cancer-related anemia is common and multifactorial in origin. Functional iron deficiency (FID) is now recognized as a cause of iron-restricted erythropoiesis and may be one of the major reasons for lack of response to treatment with Erythropoietic Stimulating Agents (ESAs). Numerous studies have shown that intravenous (IV), but not oral, iron therapy effectively provides sufficient iron for optimal erythropoiesis in anemic patients with chronic renal disease receiving ESA therapy. The use of IV iron has also been suggested in the cancer setting. Six recent studies have tested this assumption and are summarized in this review. Four formulations of IV iron are available in Europe, with different pharmacokinetics, iron bioavailability, and risk of acute adverse drug reactions. Conclusion: Limited iron stores and FID are common causes of response failure during ESA treatment in cancer patients and should be diagnosed. There is now substantial scientific support for the use of IV iron supplementation to improve response and this has been acknowledged in international and national guidelines. Prospective long-term data on the safety of IV iron in this setting are still awaited. Recommendations concerning the optimal formulation, doses, and schedule of iron supplementation to ESA treatment in cancer-related anemia are provisional awaiting data from prospective, randomized trials.

The aim of the study was to establish an optimized protocol of iron dextran administration to pig neonates, which better meets the iron demand for erythropoiesis. Here, we monitored development of red blood cell indices, plasma iron parameters during a 28-day period after birth (till the weaning), following intramuscular administration of different concentrations of iron dextran to suckling piglets. To better assess the iron status we developed a novel mass spectrometry assay to quantify pig plasma levels of the iron-regulatory peptide hormone hepcidin-25. This hormone is predominantly secreted by the liver and acts as a negative regulator of iron absorption and reutilization. The routinely used protocol with high amount of iron resulted in the recovery of piglets from iron deficiency but also in strongly elevated plasma hepcidin-25 levels. A similar protocol with reduced amounts of iron improved hematological status of piglets to the same level while plasma hepcidin-25 levels remained low. These data show that plasma hepcidin-25 levels can guide optimal dosing of iron treatment and pave the way for mixed supplementation of piglets starting with intramuscular injection of iron dextran followed by dietary supplementation, which could be efficient under condition of very low plasma hepcidin-25 level.

There is mounting evidence that anaemic patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy and receiving recombinant erythropoietin respond better when parenteral iron is administered.10-12 This benefit is independent of baseline iron variables, such as ferritin, low percentage transferrin saturation,10 and stainable marrow haemosiderin,12 leaving the clinician in need of laboratory variables to reliably detect iron-restricted erythropoiesis in patients with inflammatory illnesses and to predict improvement of erythropoietic response to parenteral iron in the setting of inflammatory illness. The largest retrospective review of dialysis experience suggests that most serious adverse events have been associated with the high-molecular-weight iron dextrans (Imferon, which is no longer available and the current preparation, Dexferrum) and are rare (<1:200000) with the low-molecular-weight iron dextran or the two iron salts (figure).15-16 Adverse event rates might be somewhat higher in patients with inflammatory diseases in which immune-mediated drug reactions may be observed more commonly than in dialysis patients.

Suitable content of iron is essential for human body, but iron overload is associated with many kinds of diseases including chronic liver damage. Recently, researchers find that iron overload promotes hepatocyte autophagy and apoptosis. However, the mechanism of iron overload in liver damage remains unclear. In this study, Lo2 cells were selected as the research object, iron dextran was a model drug, and astragaloside IV was a therapeutic drug to explore the role of iron overload. MTT assay and Annexin/PI double staining were used to measure cell viability and apoptosis. Ultrastructure was observed by transmission electron microscopy. The expression levels of apoptosis and autophagy-related proteins were determined by real-time PCR and Western Blot. The results showed that iron dextran could significantly inhibit Lo2 cell viability and increase the apoptosis rate, while astragaloside IV could reverse the inhibition of Lo2 cell viability and decrease the apoptosis rate. Transmission electron microscopy showed a significant increase in the number of autophagosomes after administration of iron dextran, and the application of astragaloside IV reduced the production of autophagosomes. LC3II/I was significantly upregulated in the model group but decreased in the astragaloside IV treatment group, and P62 showed the opposite trend. Iron dextran significantly upregulated the expression of Bax and downregulated Bcl2, while astragaloside IV reversed this trend. Finally, the inhibition of hepcidin caused by iron dextran was counteracted by astragaloside IV. In conclusion, the experimental results show that the iron overload model mainly induces excessive autophagy and apoptosis of hepatocytes, thus causing damage to hepatocytes, but astragaloside IV plays a certain therapeutic role in reversing this damage.

Iron deficiency is an important clinical concern in chronic kidney disease (CKD), giving rise to iron-deficiency anemia and impaired cellular function. Oral supplementation, in particular with ferrous salts, is associated with a high rate of gastrointestinal side effects and is poorly absorbed, a problem that is avoided with intravenous iron. The most stable intravenous iron complexes (eg, iron dextran, ferric carboxymaltose, ferumoxytol, and iron isomaltoside 1000) can be given in higher single doses and more rapidly than less stable preparations (eg, sodium ferric gluconate). Iron complexes that contain dextran or dextran-derived ligands can cause dextran-induced anaphylactic reactions, which cannot occur with dextran-free preparations such as ferric carboxymaltose and iron sucrose. Test doses are advisable for conventional dextran-containing compounds. Iron supplementation is recommended for all CKD patients with anemia who receive erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, whether or not they require dialysis. Intravenous iron is the preferred route of administration in hemodialysis patients, with randomized trials showing a significantly greater increase in hemoglobin levels for intravenous versus oral iron and a low rate of treatment-related adverse events. In the nondialysis CKD population, the erythropoietic response is also significantly higher using intravenous versus oral iron, and tolerability is at least as good. Moreover, in some nondialysis patients intravenous iron supplementation can avoid, or at least delay, the need for erythropoiesis-stimulating agents. In conclusion, we now have the ability to achieve iron replenishment rapidly and conveniently in dialysis-dependent and nondialysis-dependent CKD patients without compromising safety.

Background Intravenous iron has been suggested as a safe and effective treatment of anemia complicating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Low molecular weight (LMW) iron dextran has the ability to administer the patient's total iron requirement in a single infusion. Aims The aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of the total dose of LMW iron dextran infusion for the treatment of iron deficiency in IBD. Methods Fifty IBD patients (27 female, 35 Crohn's disease, 15 ulcerative colitis) were included in the study. Mean ± standard deviation (SD) hemoglobin and ferritin levels before the infusion were 9.88 ± 1.42 g/dl and 13.9 ± 10.9 ng/ml, respectively. A 25-mg test dose was followed by infusion of the total dose of LMW iron dextran based on the iron deficit. Several clinical and laboratory parameters were measured before and on week 4 after infusion. Results Four patients (8%) developed adverse reactions during the test infusion and did not receive the total-dose infusion. Only one patient developed an allergic reaction during the total-dose infusion. In the remaining 45 patients, the mean ± SD iron dose that was given was 1,075 ± 269 mg. The mean ± SD elevation of hematocrit and hemoglobin on week 4 was 4.9 ± 1.9% and 1.7 ± 0.8 g/dl, respectively. Hematopoietic response was observed in 23 of 45 patients (51.1%). Conclusion Total parenteral iron replacement with LMW iron dextran is an easy, safe, and effective alternative method for treating iron deficiency anemia in IBD. Harmless adverse reactions may develop in a minority of patients.

Serious adverse events that occur with the administration of iron dextran are due to the high molecular weight preparations. Conclusions that iron sucrose and ferric gluconate are safer than iron dextran may be premature. Published literature comparing safety profiles of available parenteral iron products is reviewed. Administration of iron salts to pre-dialysis patients with chronic kidney disease may not be optimal. We recommend the total dose infusion of low molecular weight iron dextran as an option for iron replacement.